Alcalá de Henares

Alcalá de Henares is a Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Located in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, 30 km northeast of the city of Madrid, it has a population of around 200,000, second largest of the region after the Spanish capital itself. The city is generally known simply as "Alcalá" but "de Henares" is often appended to differentiate other dozen of cities called also Alcalá around Spain.

History

The city boundaries were inhabited since the Calcolitic. Pre-Roman Celtiberian tribes populated the hills nearby, but it was the conquering Romans who in 1 a. C. moved it to its current site. Thus, it became the only Roman town in the Madrid region - its Latin name being Complutum. With 10.000 inhabitants, it reached the status of Municipium and had its own governing institutions. After the falling apart of the Roman Empire, under the Visigoths, it declined, although it also became a pilgrimage place for the Saints Justo and Pastor.

When in 711 the Moors arrived, they subdued the Visigothic city and founded another site, building an al-qalat, which it means "castle" in old Arabic, on a nearby hill, today known as Alcalá la Vieja (Old Alcalá). In May 3rd 1118 it was reconquered by the Archbishop of Toledo, Spain Bernardo de Sedirac in the name of Castile. The Christians preferred the Burgo de Santiuste ("Saint Just's borough") on the original Roman site and the Arab one was abandoned. The city was ceded to the Bishopric of Toledo, which granted it ferial rights. Under Christian rule until the end of the Reconquista, the city sported both a Jewish and a Moorish quarter and had a renowned marketplace. Its central position allowed it to be a frequent residence of the Kings of Castile, when traveling south.

At some time in the 1480s Christopher Columbus had his first meeting here with the Reyes Católicos, Ferdinand and Isabella. In 1496, Cardinal Cisneros founded the Universidad Complutense, which became famous as a centre of learning during the Renaissance. For economic reasons, it was moved to Madrid in 1836 (under the name Universidad Complutense de Madrid). A new university was founded in the old buildings as the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares in 1977. The city suffered severe damage during the Spanish Civil War.

Historic figures

The author Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, although his family moved from the city when he was still young. The city celebrates his birthday, 9 October, every year and organizes an annual Cervantes festival. The local university is acknowledged as a global leader in the study of Cervantes and his works.

Other important historical figures born in Alcalá de Henares include the also writer Juan Ruiz, Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII of England, the artist Pablo de Céspedes, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, and President Manuel Azaña, the last president of the Second Spanish Republic. Other notable figures associated with the city are Ferdinand I of Aragon, the mystic John of the Cross and the theologian Gabriel Vázquez.

The University

The major landmark and greatest pride of the city, its university, is spread throughout the city, but generally exists in two campuses. The first is on the north side of Alcala. This campus includes most science departments and student housing (as well as its own, separate RENFE station). The second, central campus houses most humanities and social science departments, including a law school. It occupies the buildings of the old Universidad Complutense in the city centre.

Climate

The climate in this city of central Spain couldn't be other than continentalised Mediterranean, with cold, dry winters and hot, dry summers. Rains fall mainly in spring and autumn. Temperatures vary from some grades under 0ºC in December and January to some over 40ºC in July and August.

The administration building along with several other engineering buildings at Texas Tech University, in Lubbock Texas, was modeled after the architecture of Universidad de Alcala de Hernales. (www.ttu.edu)

Geography

At an average of 654 m of altitude, on the southern part of the Meseta Central and occupying some 88 km²; the city was for a long time encapsuled between the hills and the river Henares to the south and east by the railway Madrid-Barcelona on the north and west. However, the expanding population has forced two new residencial areas to be created between the railway and the motorway and beyond the latter. The historical centre lies still roughly in the middle of the urban area. It is characterised by lower, Spanish Golden Age buildings, of which the most lavish belong to the University. This gained for the city's receiving the title of World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1998

Surrounding it there are the awful, high, swiftly built blocks of the 60's, during Francoist era. They fill spaces to the north up to the railway line and to the west until the industrial zone begins. This was erected in the early 60 and has developed and expanded. Now it occupies a good third of the city's area being cut by the mentioned railway and motorway. To the east, the old blocks limit with a more recent area of lower blocks with gardens and (semi-)detached houses. This kind of construction consitutes also the landscape of the new districts beyond the railway and the motorway.

The river remains widely underused. Although there are plans now in force to reconvert it into a major leisure place for the alcalaínos, it presents still no more than fairly good tracks for cycling and walking.

Inmigration

Some 18% of the population has a foreign nationality, a large part of the new-comers (30%) are immigrants from Eastern Europe. Many Chinese businesses have also established in the city.

Transport and Tragedy

Alcalá's excellent transport links with Madrid have led to its becoming a commuter town, with many of its inhabitants travelling to work in the capital. It was affected particularly badly by the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid as the bombed trains all originated at or passed through Alcalá.

Twinning

Alcalá de Henares, as the birthplace of Catherine of Aragon, is twinned with the city of Peterborough in the United Kingdom, her final resting-place.

External links

Municipalities in Madrid | World Heritage Sites in Spain

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